Awaiting the Manger: 7 Days of Discovering Jesus in the Old TestamentSample

Sarah’s Laughter

The sun’s midday heat seeped into Sarah’s aged bones as she sat in her tent’s door with her husband. Just a short rest, she thought. A breath. She closed her eyes until the sound of Abraham’s movement grabbed her attention. Three mysterious men were approaching, and Abraham was running toward them. Running? His old legs haven’t moved that fast in years. Then, down to the dusty earth he bowed before them.

They weren’t mere men, she realized. One was the Lord. She stiffened. Come to make another false promise? Many years ago when he first called them from their home in Ur, God had promised a great nation would come from Abraham (Genesis 12). And again, on that night when Abraham cut the animals, he’d promised an heir (Genesis 15). None of his promises had come true. What will the Lord promise this time? Despite her cynicism, a wave of reverent fear struck her heart.

Abraham invited them to stay, so Sarah worked the dough into bread as their finest lamb roasted over the fire. She moved inside the tent and listened as they ate.

The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son” (Genesis 18:10). Abraham was ninety-nine. Sarah eighty-nine. Her womb was long dead, and in a burst of disbelief, she laughed. God heard her faithless chuckles, yet again he spoke his promise. And this time added, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:14).

Reminded of the holy presence before her, she tried to take it back. “I did not laugh.” But she couldn’t fool God (Genesis 18:15). He knew the doubt, the disenchantment, the distrust that had hardened in her over the decades.

As weeks turned into months, Sarah’s belly slowly grew until finally the doubtful thoughts shifted to seeds of hope. Maybe there really is life inside me. Twenty-five long years after God first spoke the promise to Abraham, the baby was born! Sarah’s dead womb brought forth life.

Back in Genesis 3:15, God spoke the first gospel promise, a person, a seed, would come from the woman. Not just 25 years, but millennia passed waiting for the deliverer to arrive.

At the right time, once again a woman was told, “You shall bear a son” (Luke 1:31). This woman was a young virgin, but she and Sarah had something in common, only a miracle could explain the impossible buds of life that blossomed within them.

“How can this be?” Mary asked. But unlike Sarah, Mary believed. Maybe she remembered God’s words to her matriarch. “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:14). As weeks turned into months, Mary’s belly grew.

And finally, the serpent crusher, who would himself someday be crushed, arrived, for despite our snickers and doubts, and usually after a long time of waiting our Promise Giver always keeps his promises.

Practice

When times of waiting come, trusting Jesus sometimes seems impossible, but when we cling to his words, the doubts fly away. Pray for help to trust.

Reflect

Describe a time of waiting when you struggled to trust. How can you trust the Lord instead of your own understanding? (Psalm 62:8; Proverbs 3:5-6)

Pray

Heavenly Father, where impatience worries my heart, grant me hope that in waiting on you, I will find strength to follow, courage to face a broken world, and grace to serve.

Sing

Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus